First, it was just three ballots. Then 100 and then 400. On Friday, six days after the vote-by-mail ballots were sent out, the Oxnard city clerk’s office received 900 responses.

That’s what City Clerk Michelle Ascencion hoped to see and continue seeing. For weeks, Ascencion has been educating voters about the upcoming special election. At Oxnard City Council meetings, neighborhood council gatherings and even the recent Earth Day celebration, she’s been answering election questions.

“There’s a lot of confusion out there,” Ascencion said.

It’s understandable.

May 1, the date of the election to potentially recall four out of five people on the City Council, is an unusual time to vote.

Even the way to fill out the ballot is different. Instead of drawing a straight line to cast a vote, voters will be asked to fill in an oval bubble.

To reinforce that point, Ascencion gave out bubble gum at the city’s Earth Day event.

Mayor Tim Flynn and council members Carmen Ramirez, Bert Perello and Oscar Madrigal are facing a recall due to their support for wastewater rate increases last year. The decision on whether they can keep their seats now rests with the 79,000 registered voters in the city.

The biggest difference between this recall election and other elections is the structure of the ballot. Instead of selecting from a pool of names running for a specified number of open seats, voters will go through a two-step process for each of the four incumbents.

In the first step, voters will answer a yes/no question of whether an incumbent should be recalled. A simple majority voting for the recall will mean the incumbent is out.

Should the incumbent be recalled, voters in the second step will pick among a group of challengers. Each incumbent has a separate set of challengers. Flynn, for example, has five challengers. Perello has one.

If the incumbent is recalled, the challenger with the majority of votes will serve the remainder of the incumbent’s term, which is until November for most incumbents and until 2020 for Madrigal.

Those who vote against the recall can still vote for a challenger.

Although there is a space for voters to write in a candidate’s name, Ascencion said there are no qualified write-in candidates.

A candidate must go through a similar nomination process as other candidates did to become a write-in candidate. Without any valid write-in candidates, a voter who writes in a name would have wasted a vote.

Ascencion said writing in a name does not invalidate the entire ballot, but it means the vote in that portion of the ballot won’t be counted.

Questions about write-in candidates have recently surfaced when recall opponents proposed the idea of filling in the names of incumbents as write-in candidates.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Election Day. But residents should check their voter guide for their polling location, which will mostly likely be different from their usual one.

There are nearly 50 polling stations, or precincts, in a typical election. This time, there are only 28. There is an interactive map on the city’s website that allows residents to enter their address and see their polling location.

On the night of the election, the first set of results to be announced on the city’s website at approximately 9 p.m. will be from vote-by-mail ballots received by May 1. The estimated time of finishing the night’s count will be 11 p.m., although that time could change.

The next set of results, expected to be final, will be announced May 9, Ascencion said.

Certification of the election is expected on May 22. If any incumbents are recalled, the new elected officials will be sworn in that day.

Although the deadline to register to vote in this election has passed, there is still time for registered voters to ask for a mail-in ballot if they do not already have permanent vote-by-mail status. To request a vote-by-mail ballot, mail in the application, which appears on the back of the voter guide. Voters can also make such a request by sending an email to votebymail@oxnard.org by April 24.

An error in the voter guide incorrectly stated that ballots postmarked by May 1 will not be accepted. Mailed ballots postmarked by May 1 will be accepted as long as the city receives it by May 4.

Ballots can be dropped off at the city clerk’s office or at any polling station. The city clerk’s office, 300 W. Third St., 4F, is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays except on Fridays, when it closes at 5 p.m. The office will be closed April 20.

This week, the city clerk’s office began verifying the signatures of mail-in ballots received so far. If the signature on a ballot matches the county record, the ballot is set aside to be counted on election night.

Mail-in ballots without a signature are not valid ballots and the city clerk will contact the voter to get the signature.

For more information about the special election, visit www.oxnard.org or call 385-7803.